Five Days Of Night
by robert3A-SN
Summary: Annie visits Jeff before a winter super storm hits in early January 2013, but gets too caught up to leave before the storm arrives and power goes out. In fact, it stays out for about a week, leaving Jeff and Annie stuck together in the dark – yet they reconnect and get comfortable without power anyway. Based on a prompt by Hypnotoad76. Complete - rated M for smut in chaps 4 and 6.
1. Chapter 1

**This is loosely based on a prompt from Hypnotoad76/claymay83, and is also based on Superstorm Sandy, my own experience in being without power for almost five nights because of it, and on spoilers and speculation about Jeff and Annie in S4, so spoiler phobes may want to be careful.**

**Monday, Jan. 7, 2013**

**Day One**

Jeff didn't exactly spring into action when Superstorm Shirley was due to strike. Some of it was because it would involve doing things, of course. Some of it was because Shirley strictly forbid the hundreds of jokes he'd crafted about her superstorm namesake.

But he was mainly tired. Tired from this last brutal semester – and Thanksgiving in general, even now. Tired from the latest holiday madness, tired from the latest Britta madness, tired of thinking about the…..finality of the next semester, and tired of just thinking at all.

With Britta, Troy and Abed already gone on a week-long vacation/Oscar nomination parody shoot, and Pierce, Shirley and Annie probably barricaded in their homes, this was as good a time to relax as Jeff would get.

Of course, Annie was always the direct opposite of relaxed. This time, she showed Jeff by coming to his apartment and asking for spare heaters, flashlights, candles and power cords.

Since Troy and Abed couldn't bug her until Friday, Annie had plenty of time to watch storm coverage and prepare within an inch of her life. She'd already bought more than enough supplies, and had already checked to see that Pierce and Shirley were prepared too. She just needed to see if Jeff could lend some backup backup supplies before she went home – but when she saw he didn't even have backup supplies, she got worried.

Eventually, Annie stopped asking if Jeff had learned anything from 'Revolution' – other than how wrong critics and Britta were to hate Charlie. After thanking every God imaginable that Britta wasn't here to start that argument again, Jeff told Annie he'd be fine and this storm would be nothing. Even if it snowed like Hell or knocked out power for an hour or two, he'd live through it. To Annie's credit, she didn't gasp _too _loudly when he used that term.

Still, Annie ran through all the weather reports she'd studied for the last few days – which had helped make up for a lack of schoolwork to study during winter break. Yet Jeff kept assuring her nothing would happen to him or anyone else in the group. Before long, Annie resigned herself and took comfort in knowing that she'd be okay.

And then Jeff opened the floodgates by asking, "So, you _are _gonna be okay?"

It wasn't the question itself, so much as how Jeff hadn't asked her anything like that in a while. In fact, once he started to think about it – while Annie was rambling with her actual answer – he realized this was the longest time they'd spent together in months. Maybe since they got expelled.

He vaguely remembered hearing and even seeing some things Annie had been up to. A few of them even sounded quite serious – like battles with Annie Kim, thinking about changing her major, and rethinking her entire post-Greendale career.

But in between all his dad stuff, his near-freedom from Greendale, his final reckoning with his Britta-feelings and his uncertain life in general, Jeff just hadn't paid attention to Annie's 'character arc,' to use an Abed-term. In fact, he couldn't remember Annie paying attention to his own arc either.

He couldn't even remember the last one-on-one adventure they'd had together – if they'd had any this semester. And they probably hadn't.

When that hit him, and when Annie started to leave, he blurted out, "So you're really okay? Not just with this, but…..life in general?"

Even if they hadn't really talked in months, Annie would have thought that was weird coming from Jeff. But for some reason, she felt enough relief to answer, "I'm fine, Jeff. I could be better, of course, but I'm starting to feel okay with that. It took a lot just to get that much, so I'm counting my blessings."

"Really? So how'd you count those?" Jeff asked before he knew what he was saying.

He hadn't blurted stuff like that to Annie in a while – stuff that implied he wanted to hear her talk more. Stuff he'd never imply to anyone else, even his other friends. He hadn't done any 'implying' with Annie in ages – yet after a minute of talking to her, he was slipping into the habit all over again.

Fortunately, Annie spoke before Jeff could lose himself in that train of thought. "Jeff, you must have seen….or at least heard, how I got those blessings," she said with a somewhat sad pause in the middle. Like it hit her just how little time they'd spent together lately – and how she was trying not to let it bother her in front of him.

Yet despite her efforts, it made Jeff more than bothered. Which in turn put him in full 'blurt out things I'd never say to anyone but Annie' mode. Like he was slipping on an old, familiar, neglected coat that still made him feel…..surprisingly warm.

To mark the occasion, he said, "Yeah, I have an idea. But if I heard it from you, I'd probably catch layers I missed the first time."

He pretended he slipped into Abed-speak in case Annie missed him – and pretended that something about that didn't bother him. Whatever he was pretending, however, Annie didn't seem to notice.

While she had every intention of getting home to beat the storm, it took her just a few minutes to forget about it. It wasn't hard after seeing Jeff pay attention to her again, remembering how rarely he did that when someone else was talking – and remembering how special she felt when she brought that rare focus out of him. Even though she was telling some rough stories about her recent struggles, it didn't feel that rough when she shared them with him.

For his part, Jeff didn't have much to say. He was busy trying not to feel guilty about missing everything Annie went through. Yet when they touched on the big, personal things Jeff went through this semester, Annie really tried hard not to pry. After all, she knew better than most how touchy parent issues could be.

Although she didn't have a front-row seat to Jeff's Thanksgiving reunion with his dad – or his other big ordeals lately – she knew it wasn't her place to pry. She admitted it seemed to be Britta's place, since she had been his shrink through all of it – and even said it with no jealousy in her voice.

Jeff didn't instantly open up about all he'd been through, or about Britta's part in it. But he did give Annie some of his perspective on what she already knew about. He even opened up on one or two things he hadn't planned on telling her as well.

She got him to say this stuff without even trying. Like it hadn't been months since they last had a real conversation. And something about that made Jeff….regretful.

However, when they shared their perspective on the funny parts of Christmas and New Years, Jeff felt something akin to relief that they were here now.

Then a weird thought went through Jeff's head for a moment. It almost sounded like _"I missed her._"

It was silly for a number of reasons. And yet that phrase went through Jeff's brain again while she was laughing, and it didn't seem….as silly.

"_I missed her._" That time, he almost muttered it to himself. Maybe he actually did, judging by how Annie stopped laughing and was looking at his mouth. And not in the 'I wish he'd let me kiss that mouth' way. Which was good. Yes, it was.

And that brought back a lot of old, confusing feelings he hadn't felt in a while. But it almost felt…..comforting to feel them again.

Then the comfort of electricity was taken away to balance it out.

Jeff and Annie were already speechless before the power went out. So they had no real reactions while they were sitting in the dark – or when the power came back five seconds later. Jeff nearly had a joke ready to mock the storm, but then it went and turned the power off again.

It didn't come back on five seconds later this time. In fact, it didn't come back on after 55 seconds either. At that point, Annie sprung into action and asked to see Jeff's phone. Jeff sighed in irrational relief that it still had power, until Annie saw they'd been talking for well over an hour. More than enough time for the storm to already get here.

Annie rushed out of the dark apartment to find out for sure, with Jeff barely remembering to put his coat on before following her. By the time he got to the front door of the building, Annie was shivering outside and was struggling to come back in. Jeff got her inside and could see a blizzard of snow coming down outside, with startlingly high winds blowing for good measure.

It was clear that power was out in the entire building, and probably everywhere else in town. What's more, there was no way anyone would be safe driving in this weather, least of all Annie. This meant she had no choice but to stay here – with Jeff, in his dark apartment, away from all her provisions, blankets and cocoa.

When they got back in, Jeff let Annie freak out for a few minutes before he dared to calm her down. He succeeded just enough so he could concentrate on finding a flashlight and candles. Nevertheless, he assured Annie that they wouldn't need them for long.

Then he became much less reassuring when his phone ran out of power.

In his lack of preparing, he forgot to do the one thing he normally did without fail – recharge his phone today. Now not only had it lost power, there were no working outlets to charge it back up. And there might not be for an hour. Or two. Or maybe even three Godless, phone-less hours. Hell, if Shirley's Satan really existed, he might put it up to four hours just for sick kicks!

Now this was officially a waking nightmare. So much so that Jeff had no idea what to do, except rush to bed and try to sleep it off.

He just forgot to say anything to Annie first. Or think about how she'd have to stay the night. Or think about her having to sleep on that damned couch – if not other places. Or think about how she'd yell at him in the morning, if he was lucky, for keeping her here instead of letting her beat out the storm.

Or think about how she'd have been all alone at her place if he didn't. Either that, or she would have been on the road right when the storm hit. Then what if the storm had…..taken her off the road?

If Jeff wasn't already forcing himself to go to sleep until the power came back on, he was now.

And since Annie just wanted to sleep until it was over too – so much that she wouldn't risk getting into a long, dark argument about sleeping in Jeff's bed – she plopped on the couch and was way ahead of him.

As tempting as it was to barge in there, sleep somewhere comfy and order Jeff not to say a word about it, she wasn't quite brave enough to. Not with the storm here, not with the power out, and not after they finally had a nice talk that she didn't want to spoil. Albeit a talk that kept Annie from going home and being prepared – and being alone too.

Whether that was a blessing in disguise or not, it was still too early in this storm front to tell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013**

**Day Two**

When Annie kept waking up in the early morning on Jeff's couch, it escaped her why she wouldn't just go over to the bedroom. Jeff was likely sound asleep, and she could wake up early enough to get out before he noticed her. As for the other benefits of sleeping near him….

Instead of making Annie swoon, those thoughts made her chide herself a bit. It had been months since she'd thought about him that way, since she had too much going on in her non-Jeff life. Besides, in the few times she'd been in his orbit last semester, he seemed to notice Britta more anyway. But that was due to their therapy work – so she told herself when she couldn't help but think about it.

This was no time to open all those doors again. This was no time to turn into a lovesick child for no real reason again. She had a real life, was at a real crossroads in it, and she couldn't let Jeff throw more wrenches into it. Not again. So she'd make it easier on both of them by staying on this couch, surviving the dark night, and then go back to her own powerless apartment.

It was for the best. Yes it was.

Even if talking with Jeff last night was the most fun she'd had in weeks. Even if having someone to share her problems with – and having someone who listened – felt good again. And even if the fond memories helped Annie drift to sleep and block out the dark, the storm and this stupid couch.

As it turned out, Annie was still asleep by the time Jeff woke up in his bed. For a minute, he thought he had a nightmare of a phone-less, TV-less world – but when the bathroom light wouldn't turn on, he was met with harsh reality. Indeed, his phone was still out and there was still no way to charge it up again.

This made Jeff want to go back to sleep for the next week or two. After all, he had nowhere to be, no Greendale to ruin his sanity for now, and no one in the group around to bug him.

Except the woman he abandoned on his lumpy couch.

Somehow, when Jeff rushed to find Annie sleeping on that couch, he didn't wake her up. She might have been a more sound sleeper than he was. But she always had to be the best at everything. She was probably even the best at storm preparation – until she got too distracted by Jeff.

She was stranded here because he couldn't stop talking to her. And after a night where the old funny Annie feelings returned, the old guilty Annie feelings were back in action too. Jeff had kept her from being safe and warm in her home, and had let her sleep on that damned couch without even thinking about her. Like being without a phone was really more important than –

And there were the funny, illogical feelings again.

The same ones that wondered why Annie didn't even try to sleep in his bed last night. Or why Jeff felt funny that she didn't.

Clearly, Jeff had to bail before she made him think on that further. Which meant he should go out, dig her car out of the snow and make sure she drove home safely – and stayed there. No sense nitpicking that plan, or why he was going to do _work _in the _morning, _any further.

At least until Jeff went out and saw how buried her car was. Along with the whole neighborhood.

Up to two feet of snow was outside, and the roads looked none too promising. The high wind even blew down a tree or two, so there was no way the power was coming back any time soon. Just as Jeff finally accepted that against his will, Annie came outside and saw the damage for herself.

When they got back inside, they didn't talk about the storm, the power, last night's sleeping arrangements or their future arrangements. As an alternative, Jeff tried to find something to eat to distract themselves. The gas and the oven still worked, so Jeff found foods that could vaguely qualify as brunch and cooked those for a while.

Jeff and Annie successfully ate in silence, until Annie blurted out, "Don't worry, this shouldn't last more than a week."

"A week? That's the lowball number here?" Jeff double checked.

Annie realized there were better ways to break the ice, so she backtracked with, "No, not for you! You're in a good neighborhood that sucks up all kinds of juice, even for stuff other than phones! They'll probably get you guys back up right away!"

"And your guys?" Jeff found himself asking. "You know there can't be any power in Troanniebed land, right?"

"I know," Annie admitted. "But the roads should be good enough to drive before dark. And I've got all my storm stuff in there, so I'll make it." She said it without trying to make Jeff feel guilty or worried about her. And yet it was happening to him anyway, although he wanted to get her out just an hour ago.

But when it hit him how she might be alone in the dark, in that Trobed-free apartment, for a _week_, he wasn't worried about being a flip-flopper.

Jeff tried to focus on how she was still here for now, and asked, "So until then, I guess you have nowhere better to be?"

Annie tried to answer without reading anything else into it, stating plainly that, "Well, Shirley's probably overwhelmed enough, I can't imagine what Pierce is doing, and I can't sleep over at the library. Again," she added offhand. "So I guess I'll sleep here for a few more hours, then I'll dig my car out and be out of your hair by tonight."

"You don't have to…." Jeff started before realizing what he almost offered. In lue of asking her to stay with him – since that would be too easy and decidedly not Jeff Winger – he took another approach and finished, "You don't have to sleep the whole time. I'm sure there's some things you can do here without power."

"Not unless you kept any old textbooks around here. Or any books, really," Annie stated, both of them knowing full well he didn't.

"Okay, so that's out and then some," Jeff acknowledged. "I'm sure there's other things we can do together," he blurted before he could edit himself. Once that sunk in, Jeff tried to stay nonchalant and prepare for however Annie might respond.

But he wasn't prepared for her to say, "Is there? Is there _anything _we like to do together?"

In many ways, Annie wasn't prepared to say it either. Yet she realized it must have been building up for a while now, if it came out that easily. In lue of any better ideas, she kept going with it and continued, "I mean, we haven't done anything together, so how would we know?"

And there it was, Jeff thought. He knew he couldn't avoid addressing their recent lack of time together, but he'd given it his very best. Yet as usual, doing his very best just wasn't worth it in the end. All he could do was stall for a little longer and say, "Annie, we've both had other things to do in the last four months. So it's not –"

"I'm not talking about that!" Annie realized at the same time she was saying it. "I mean even before that. Even then, I spent most of my free time with Troy and Abed, or Shirley or Britta…..not you. And you go out drinking and therapizing with Britta, have lunches with Shirley, and even clean up Troy and Abed's messes! But you and me never spend one-on-one time together…..not time that has nothing to do with Greendale or the group. I can't remember if we ever did."

Annie was on a roll, as sad as that made part of her. It steamrolled her into adding, "It makes sense, really. We don't share the same interests, and the things we both like usually involve the group! What _can _we do together when we're all alone? And if there's nothing….what does that say about us?"

Annie wished she didn't know where that was coming from. But inside, she knew that was her rational – one of them, anyway – for why it was good that she and Jeff weren't closer.

After all, how could they be when there was nothing they liked doing together, without Greendale or the group being involved? Or when they almost never spent free non-Greendale/group time with each other even before last semester? It's why they couldn't kill time together in a power outage, and why they couldn't do….other things.

She prepared to go back to the couch and try to sleep, so she and Jeff couldn't talk about this anymore. But before she could, she heard something she never expected – Jeff continuing a conversation under his own free will.

What's more, he continued it with, "I like talking to you. That's the whole reason you got stranded here. I actually like talking to you about…..well, anything. And I don't like doing that with _anyone_."

Annie looked at Jeff for the first time since her speech, if only to study his face for lies or pity. If he was just saying this to make her feel better, he was hiding it much better than usual. That didn't fit for someone who never put effort into anything. Unless it didn't require one because it was the truth.

Before Annie knew it, she let out another question she'd hidden for some time. "Then why did you open up to _Britta_ about your dad? I'm not a licensed psych major, but I actually know something about rotten parents! So why did you go to her about that stuff and not me?" she asked, instantly wishing she'd phrased that better.

"Why didn't you bug me about it either?" Jeff asked pretty quickly. He answered for her, "Because you had tons of other things to do! You had real problems that had nothing to do with me, and mine had nothing to do with you. They were so big I didn't have time to think of you. And I guess you couldn't think about me either."

This took a lot of the fight from Annie, as she saw the truth in his words and her own memory. "Yeah, maybe…." She conceded. "My life really doesn't revolve around you."

"You're one of the few people with a real reason to say that," Jeff tried to joke, which drew a little grin from Annie.

"And your life doesn't revolve around me," Annie continued. "And I guess if Britta made you feel better, it doesn't matter if I couldn't." She then got more definitive and added, "No, I _know _it doesn't matter, I really do. I'm just happy you're doing okay, no matter what. I'm _always _happy when you're okay."

Annie had no idea how she got there, but she was kind of glad she did, even if it didn't resolve the original problem. But she'd probably have to take what she could get. So once again, she was ready to try and sleep off the afternoon – yet once again, Jeff stopped her by actually opening up.

"Maybe it's because I don't feel bad fighting with her," Jeff theorized. Annie had lost complete track of where they were, so she just stared at him until he continued.

"Britta…..going to her for advice is like eating vegetables. Or carbs that keep me from being anorexic. I know in the long run, doing these things might be good for me. But I have to be dragged kicking and screaming to do that stuff anyway. Even if she was better at it than I figured she'd be," Jeff admitted.

"You guys argue all the time, that's not new," Annie recalled.

"Right, that's why I don't feel bad when we do. It's our thing," Jeff noted. "Then we just get over it and start the circle of life all over again. It's no big deal to me when she gets mad because I don't open up, or trust her or do other nonsense things for her." He then paused to choose his next words carefully and came up with, "But it bothers me when that happens with you."

"But you just said you liked opening up to me," Annie remembered.

"At the end, yeah. But you would have pulled teeth to make me open up about Dad, too! Then we'd have fought worse than me and Britta did about it! And that would have been too much for me," Jeff confessed without thinking. "I could handle all that stuff with Britta on top of my other problems. But if I had those fights with _you_….not to mention that other stuff…."

He stopped himself although it stopped virtually nothing. It certainly didn't stop Annie from asking, "What other stuff, Jeff?"

With no way out, Jeff had to keep opening up, no matter how bad it tasted to him. Or _should _have tasted.

"Seeing Britta with my dad problems, and seeing her with Troy….it put some funny ideas in my head." Jeff hoped Annie didn't need further explanation – and perhaps the somewhat hurt look in her eyes meant she didn't. But he then started working to erase that look.

"Look, no matter how aggravating it was, Britta _did _help me. And if you tell this to anyone else, I'll have you recommitted to the nuthouse. But it made me realize I'm lucky to have her in my life." Jeff steeled himself and further confessed, "But _only _as my friend and my sometimes kind-of-competent shrink. That's what I learned from going through all this with her. That's how I _could _handle it, because she's not _that _important to me after all. But…."

Jeff hoped just gesturing to Annie said what he couldn't in words. With the blank way Annie was looking at him, he didn't like his chances. However, she eventually spoke, "So I was _too _important to you to fight with?" She then added, "And I thought you _weren't _thinking about me in that mess."

"Well, it's just a theory. I made that clear earlier, right?" Jeff honestly asked. Annie nodded, yet he still wasn't sure how she was feeling. Or how _he _was feeling, for that matter.

However, he still felt enough to add, "No matter what we do or don't do together, or who else I turn to….it doesn't change that you _are _that important to me. Enough that I couldn't go through my Dad and Britta nonsense and risk hurting that too. Or you."

"In theory," Annie added for him, with a hint of that old playful smirk she hadn't given him for too long.

"In theory," Jeff poorly kept up the charade. But Annie didn't seem to mind, or want to press him any further.

"Well, like I said, I should be glad you got through that nonsense either way," Annie stated. "I shouldn't act like a jealous kid because someone else helped you. Heck, I act like a kid enough in other ways, right?" she tried to joke about herself, although she clearly wasn't that good at it.

Nevertheless, it extended Jeff's desire to be open for a few more seconds, as he barely got out, "Annie, no matter what lies I've told you, you're not a kid in _any _way. You never have been and never will be."

Even a more vulnerable Jeff knew that was a bit much, which helped him to close off again. Yet part of him was still hoping Annie believed him. Maybe that part even hoped it'd be enough to make her stay here. _Maybe_.

"I'll keep that in mind," Annie finally said, barely suppressing all the bubbling questions and old feelings Jeff had inspired. Yet even now, she still had enough sense to know not to press her luck – something the old 'kid' Annie wouldn't have had.

So instead of focusing on what Jeff hadn't said or barely cleared up, she dwelled on what he did reveal – and on how special it made her feel. At least special enough that she couldn't sleep after all.

"You know, maybe I don't need to sleep yet. It's not that cold out, so maybe I could walk through the snow before I shovel it," Annie figured. "It's something to do other than wait to charge a phone, anyway," she tried to implant in Jeff's mind. Judging by how Jeff got his coat on a few minutes later, it was a success.

Maybe Jeff and Annie didn't have many things they could do together inside. But sharing a walk outside in the snow could balance that out for a few hours. Annie filled the first one with stories about how she loved playing and walking in the snow as a kid, and how her parents liked doing that with her too – if only for 10 years or so.

Jeff eventually conceded that the snow looked nice, at least when it wasn't killing his phone. He did slip up when they found a store with power, and Jeff tried and failed to find an open power outlet for his phone. Especially when he realized he didn't bring his charger. Yet Annie barely made him sane again by finding somewhere where he could have cocoa.

After they quenched their wintertime thirst, the two kept walking until they found an ice rink. This time, Annie was upset that she didn't bring something, in this case her skates. But her stories about using them kept her and Jeff enthralled for a good half-hour before they turned back.

By the time they returned to the apartment, Annie conceded she should start cleaning up her car. If only so she could drive to her place and get some things to bring back to Jeff's. Jeff didn't react too much to that, yet the fact that he got a shovel and helped her out was enough of a statement.

And they only got distracted enough to have one snowball fight in between, when Jeff prematurely threw one at Annie before she could do it. Yet she got him back by sneaking behind him and dropping a snowball down his collar – which stunned Jeff in a number of ways.

By the time they reached a peace treaty to end the snowball war, there were only a few hours of daylight left. Annie took advantage by driving to her apartment with Jeff, and going in her room to get her books, flashlights, games, laptop and even a movie or two. Her laptop still had enough power that they could watch a two-hour movie tonight before an early bedtime.

But when they got back to Jeff's, the power was back on for a number of buildings in the area. As such, Jeff figured his power would be back at any moment, so they just waited inside Annie's car for it to happen. When his apartment complex didn't light up, however, they drove to get takeout for dinner and ate in the car – yet the power still didn't return after they got back.

It seemed Jeff's building was on a different power grid than those who got their power back. This particular grid had only a few customers without power, so it would probably be a low priority. Either way, the power wasn't coming back at Jeff's place tonight, and a quick drive back to Annie's showed she didn't have it either.

With no way around it anymore, Jeff and Annie returned to Jeff's place and lit up their candles. The heat hadn't been gone for that long, so it wasn't too cold yet. And with the light, they could watch a movie on Annie's laptop and finish it before its power went out.

However, Jeff could only watch five minutes of "The Five-Year Engagement" before he had to turn it off. Annie objected rather vigorously, but she eventually conceded – and instead decided to beat Jeff in a few of her board games. Since anything that involved skill and smarts was Annie's specialty, Jeff didn't have a chance.

In the old days, Annie imagined candlelight dinners with Jeff frequently. She never imagined candlelight board games, however, yet it turned out to be much more fun. At least until she won all of them and made Jeff more than ready to go to sleep.

Jeff was insistent that Annie sleep on his bed this time. He was equally insistent that he sleep on the couch as well. Once again, Annie didn't want to bring up the 'sleeping together' option and ruin a good day between them – an even better day at that. Maybe their best day ever.

It wasn't ruined by any last-minute arguments, or any awkwardness about saying good-night. Annie just hugged Jeff and broke away after an appropriate amount of time. If anything, Jeff lingered two seconds too long, yet they both decided in their heads that it was nothing. Then they told themselves that again just before they laid down and started trying to sleep.

With no power yet again, Annie in a bed other than her own – albeit a fancier one – and with Jeff on that stupid couch, it still wasn't an ideal scenario. But until then, neither one of them had wanted to be anywhere else – or have anything else – for most of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013**

**Day Three**

Like the previous night, Annie was tempted to invite Jeff to sleep with her. But at least this time, she was in a bed and wasn't as tempted to get out of it.

In any case, she kept telling herself that one good day wasn't worth yet another shot at something more – especially since she probably didn't even want it. If this last semester of Annie Kim battles and career uncertainty meant anything, it was that she had more important things to sort out in her life.

Even if sorting it out without Jeff's reluctant help, or even interest, had made her feel pretty alone when she thought about it. But he had real important things to do too, so there was no sense pouting about it like a child.

Then again, she'd grown more afraid over the years that most of her actions would be seen as childish. It was something she didn't fear as much until Jeff kept treating her like a kid in sophomore year.

The same Jeff who just said that Annie was never a kid, then or now. And that contradiction would have kept Annie up all night, had Jeff's sheets not been so toasty warm.

But without his sheets, Jeff wasn't as fortunate. To be fair, he didn't know if Annie or the couch was keeping him awake. He'd laid as many pillows and sheets as he could on the couch, so maybe that wasn't it.

It wasn't like this would be the first time Annie kept him up at night – she just wasn't sleeping 20 feet away before. And she wasn't likely to be staying here for the next several days before.

Jeff knew it was ridiculous to get this carried away again. Before this, he'd been too wrapped up in his own problems to think about Annie for months. And that stuff he'd said about being afraid to lash out at Annie with his dad issues was just absurd. He didn't remember thinking that once in the last four months, so where did it come from yesterday?

Life would be so much easier if Jeff didn't already know the answer.

He forgot it enough to get a few hours of sleep, at least. When Jeff woke up, he was slightly surprised that Annie wasn't already up and about. But after some hesitation, he knocked on his bedroom door, wondering if he'd woken up before her for once.

Yet that remained impossible when Annie called out, "Jeff? Hold on a second, I'm reading!" Of course she was. So Jeff told her it was nothing and laid back on the couch, amazed and amused.

Now that she'd brought her old books back from her place, Annie would be in her own world until dark. And since she was on his bed, she probably wouldn't come out until the power came back – because it was so comfy. That had to be it. Yet Jeff ignored how this made him feel…..something like a pang in his chest.

But it was premature anyway, since Annie emerged from his room in the next hour. With that, her and Jeff settled into the same routine they'd perfected yesterday morning – minus the big talks. Jeff salvaged as much breakfast food as he could, cooked what little he could, and the two ate brunch in surprisingly comfortable silence.

Then Annie actually said if she was going to stay here, they should probably go shopping. Jeff was barely listening after she said she would stay, but he eventually got the gist. Since Jeff still had a little money left, and since there was nothing else to do until dark, he agreed to go grocery shopping with her that afternoon.

The fact that it sounded – and then felt – so _domestic_ barely escaped Jeff. However, Annie distracted him just in time from that when she wanted to get stuff for Shirley too.

With both their phones out and with Troy, Abed and Britta away, neither Jeff nor Annie had seen or heard from their other friends. They could only see Shirley and Pierce, and Annie soon realized that Shirley must be overwhelmed in a dark house with three kids and no school. Even if she wasn't – especially if Superstorm Shirley didn't take out original Shirley's oven – it was still worth paying a visit.

Annie picked out some extra food for Shirley, and even got some battery powered toys for the kids – since they were probably bored with their Christmas gifts by now. Jeff's biggest contribution was to smile, nod and pay for most of it, yet Annie gave him full co-credit for the gifts when they got to Shirley's.

The joke was that Shirley's house actually had power, as Andre was able to get a power generator from work. But since Jeff was in an apartment building and had no room for a power generator, he was still out of luck. For good measure, he didn't bring his cell phone and therefore couldn't power it up here. Yet to his credit, he didn't run off like a banshee to go get it.

He actually spent much of his time watching Annie, particularly when she gave her gifts to the kids. She lit up to see them having fun because of her, and they even let her play with them for a bit. Then when they wore her out, she moved on to help Shirley feed baby Ben. Then Annie sat on a recliner and rocked him to sleep in her arms, and Jeff nearly stopped breathing.

Shirley was the 'mom' of the group, yet Jeff knew Annie was just as warm and nurturing and motherly – and scary when she got crossed. That said something, considering how only the last part described Annie's own mom, from what he knew. Maybe knowing how _not_ to be a good mom made Annie look so good and natural and…._right _with kids just now.

Any kid of her own would be a super genius, without question. And with her wisdom and growth over the years, she'd know how to both teach them _and_ let them have fun – the kind of balance she never had growing up. She really would be an amazing mom when she was ready…..especially if she also had –

Perhaps it was good that Shirley got Jeff's attention before he finished thinking that. But since she saw him….looking at Annie, Jeff still had to make some forbidden Superstorm Shirley jokes to distract her. He could only stay inside for a few more minutes after that.

Jeff stayed alone in his car for a few minutes to regroup himself, until Annie came back there as well. She scolded him for making those jokes, but Jeff couldn't well explain why he made them. Nevertheless, Annie still admitted that she left too because she would have been bored without him.

But before Jeff's heart could skip, Annie deflated it by saying they would visit Pierce next.

Of course, Pierce already had a super power generator at his mansion, and all kinds of phones working as if to taunt Jeff. Yet Jeff still didn't run off to get his phone, since he didn't want to give Pierce the satisfaction. Besides, if Annie would have been bored at Shirley's without Jeff here, he couldn't possibly leave her alone with Pierce in this place.

Annie also surprised him by not telling Pierce she was staying at Jeff's. She just said they were spending time in the afternoon, but that she was still sleeping in her place at night. When Pierce was distracted – exactly one second later – Annie whispered to Jeff that she didn't want Pierce to ask questions and make him feel uncomfortable.

Whether that was the real reason or not was just one of the uncomfortable things on Jeff's mind.

It stood to get worse when Pierce found a working phone, and Annie got the idea to actually call Troy, Abed and Britta. Jeff passed, since even if Annie didn't tell them she was staying with Jeff either, they'd ask him too many questions. Or they would once Abed used his powers for evil and deduced it anyway.

When Annie did get a hold of them, she said that Jeff was at another part of the mansion and wasn't available. But after a minute, she relented and said to Jeff, "Sorry, Britta said she _really _wanted to talk to you." Of course she did.

Jeff and Britta finally confronted and destroyed their remaining attraction once and for all this past semester. That didn't mean Jeff was anxious to talk to Britta about his…..other attractions. He didn't see why she'd be anxious either, but if she insisted on talking to him, then Abed must have already guessed that Jeff and Annie were….sleeping close to each other. And of course, she probably couldn't wait until she got back to shrink nag him.

Annie gave Jeff the phone and stepped away to give him privacy, or so she said. Once she was out of range, Jeff decided to beat Britta to the punch.

"Britta, do I have to remind you what _vacation _means? It means no shrink work on me right now, no matter _what _Abed guessed! Yes, Annie's staying at my place until the power comes back! No, we're not doing anything else….powerful!" Then after being completely certain that Annie couldn't hear him, he added, "And no, nothing like that is _going _to happen! And no, you don't get to say 'See that it doesn't' or make any jokes about me or _especially _her! Got it?"

Jeff knew this was kind of harsh, especially to someone who'd helped him against all odds and logic. But letting her get him through his dad issues was one thing. Britta was certainly _not _going to meddle in him and Annie too. Whatever him and Annie were, it was between them and no one else – not Britta or Shirley or Pierce or anyone.

Wait. When had he gotten that idea? An idea that discredited a _lot _of his anti-Jeff/Annie arguments, at that.

God, if Britta was there in person…..hell, she probably got enough from hearing him over the phone. No wonder Jeff couldn't be analyzed by her about this. He was so revealing that even _Britta _would be observant enough to notice…..some things.

Yet all Britta said was, "So I can't say even if something happened, you'd be okay when it was over after all. Good to know. You can put Annie back on now. Hurry up, I'm on vacation here!"

Jeff called Annie back over before Britta could joke again, then left to give her privacy too. He wound up touring Pierce's mansion by himself for a bit, which spoke to how screwed up he really was. But he couldn't be screwier than Britta, with that…..confusing line she gave him.

Even after he ordered her not to psych him, she spoke her psych Britta nonsense anyway. And it was nonsense. Whatever _she_ thought it meant.

Or what guesses Jeff might have.

Fortunately, Annie found him and stopped him from guessing. She had little to say about her talk with Britta and Trobed, other than they were fine and wished she and Jeff well. Whether they said anything else to her, she didn't say – nor did she ask what Britta told Jeff.

Nevertheless, Jeff sensed a little awkwardness when they got back in the car. He feared – or was at least concerned – that it might continue when they got home, since it was almost dark and they'd likely have to sleep early. There had to be something they could do before then.

If there wasn't anything to do inside their – _his _– apartment, there were still a few options outside. And Jeff remembered once of them when they drove past a restaurant.

Before he knew it, he had convinced Annie to go in there and eat – and not in the car like last night. They were actually in a real restaurant, eating a real dinner that Jeff could somehow still afford. If they didn't know better, they'd swear it was almost like….a date. A first date, even.

Of course, Jeff and Annie rarely knew better. But they knew enough not to say out loud that this felt like a date. Yet ignoring it threatened to make it an awkward date. However, Jeff remembered that Pierce jokes were a sure-fire way to cure awkwardness, and he had a bunch of new ones.

Naturally, Annie had a few new ways to defend Pierce as well. Still, the mansion was too weird – and the memories of the past Halloween there were too vivid – for Annie not to joke about that before long. Before long, she and Jeff were joking and finding new layers in that ordeal.

By now, Jeff realized that tended to happen when they talked about an adventure. At least on one where they weren't paired up together first. Maybe that Halloween would have been less scary – _annoying_, he meant – if they had been.

But they were paired up on this date – dinner, he meant to think. Whatever it was, it wound up being pretty easy after a while. Talking about their old adventures made them talk about their new ones at Shirley and Pierce's houses, and then the conversation flowed from there. It was like the more they talked, the easier it was to tune out the world, all other concerns – and their own overactive brains.

They kept tuning them out when they went to a bar after dinner. Yet they both knew they couldn't drink too much, since they had to be sober to get through Jeff's dark apartment. Normally, this would be a real buzz kill for Jeff, especially with no free pool tables, no date to seduce –technically – and no sports games on to make up for it.

But there was Annie. And that turned out to be enough.

It was enough when Jeff could needle Annie about her lack of sports knowledge – although she knew enough about Peyton Manning from his billions of commercials. It was enough when Annie shared her bar trips as Caroline Decker that Jeff didn't know about. It was enough when Annie got a drink and no one asked for ID, which made her light up more than anything else had tonight.

Jeff could be offended that their dinner hadn't done that, but he wasn't. It was relieving to see Annie feel that grown up, without him undercutting her for some reason or another. It was actually ironic, considering how grownup to an uptight fault she was when they first met. If anything, she really had become more of a kid the older she got – but that was okay. At least more okay than Jeff used to think.

He never could have had this kind of day with her years ago, because no one could. Now she was looser, less strict and more flexible with her time. And yet despite that, she was still Annie. She was the same driven, sometimes annoying perfectionist she'd always been – but she could also be different once in a while, _and _stillstay true to who she was.

And who she was right now, and had been all week so far, was…..fun.

No one who'd only heard of Annie Edison would describe her as fun at first. Even those who knew her best wouldn't call her fun right away. But the more Jeff was around her tonight, the more he appreciated that she was fun, in her own way. Maybe she always had been.

True, there weren't many specific activities Jeff and Annie could share together. But maybe just _sharing _things together was enough to make _anything_ they did fun. Without this storm or power outage, Jeff might have gone on not knowing that – or admitting it – for….well, maybe forever. And something about that made him a little sick.

He couldn't blame that on being drunk, since he wasn't. And he couldn't blame those other sappy thoughts on alcohol either. Then again, maybe something else was intoxicating him tonight.

Now Jeff really had to block those crazy thoughts out. Normally, he'd probably do it by calling it a night, and leaving Annie behind with no explanation at all. Leaving her to think she'd done something wrong, had acted like a child or was stupid to trust Jeff again.

Although that would be the easiest and safest way out for Jeff, he didn't take the easy route this time. In fact, he made _an effort _not to. If that didn't say it all…..well, something else probably did. But Jeff couldn't focus on that right now.

Instead, he stayed with Annie, kept talking to her just enough, and finally drove her back to the apartment. Both were sober enough to get inside, light up their candles, use their flashlights – and then remember they hadn't put away the groceries they bought hours ago. Sorting that out killed a few minutes, so that was a plus.

Afterwards, Annie took another stab at watching a movie on her laptop. Jeff was adamant that she didn't try "Five-Year Engagement" again, and she eventually caved in. They chose something that Jeff didn't turn off after five minutes, so that was a good enough seal of approval.

Without a working charger or outlet, the laptop would probably die right as the movie ended. But Jeff promised Annie they'd charge it up first when the power returned. Annie didn't comment on how Jeff wanted to charge that up _before _his phone.

They were equally speechless when Annie found herself lying against Jeff. Yet despite how dicey that was, none of them moved a muscle. Not until Jeff laid his arm around Annie and let her put her head on his chest, anyway.

Their minds and pulses were racing, but their mouths stayed shut. They should have been uncomfortable in this position, or at least uncomfortable on this couch. Instead, there was a strange sense of comfort and relief flooding over both of them. Soon enough, that led to them feeling sleepy as well.

Neither Jeff nor Annie had gone to sleep right away in the last two nights. One thing or another had made them wake up repeatedly, no matter where they were sleeping.

But when they closed their eyes while in each other's arms, they didn't move an inch for the rest of the night – even on Jeff's couch.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter ups the story to an M rating for smut**

**Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013**

**Day Four**

Annie Edison was the most wide-eyed person her friends had ever known. But even she had never been as wide-eyed and stunned as when she woke up this morning. Mainly because she was lying on Jeff Winger's body, and had been the entire night.

When she realized it, Annie somehow avoided squeaking too loudly. Then when she realized how good this felt – better than all her old fantasies combined – she barely avoided squealing too loudly. Yet she composed herself to slip from Jeff's arms without waking him up, then left the couch – which hadn't been as uncomfortable with someone else there. With _Jeff _there.

With Jeff willingly holding her for a whole night.

With Jeff likely to deny it meant anything when he woke up. That they were tired and bored and exhausted from their long day – their long, really _good _day together. But nothing romantic or sexual did happen – or at least nothing sexual, anyway.

Yet if Annie pointed that out to Jeff, he'd likely make her feel like a childish girl who read too much into things. _Again_. But she was older and wiser and knew better now. There really was nothing to read into – right? Even if there was, was it worth getting into?

With Annie's uncertain future, Jeff's uncertain future, and their spectacularly unaddressed past, was _any _of it worth it?

Annie retreated to the bathroom to try and figure it out, before Jeff woke up and their latest round of awkwardness started. But after almost three years of trying to figure her and Jeff out, she couldn't possibly solve it in three minutes, or 33. So what was there to do?

Maybe it was time to take a page from the Jeff playbook. Namely, act like nothing had happened and deflect anything to the contrary. Jeff was a master at it, and Annie had seen him perfect it for years, so she could pull this off easily. If she wanted to.

If she had any clue what she wanted at all.

She didn't know if she wanted to work in health care anymore, she didn't know what her post-Greendale life should be anymore, and she didn't know in many ways who she really was. So why in God's name should she know what she wanted from Jeff either? For once, she didn't want to delve into the answer.

Jeff would appreciate the irony, if she could ever tell him. But the best thing to do was to have a normal day and not address anything, especially since Jeff wouldn't. Then she could wait it out until Troy and Abed came back tomorrow and gave her a reason to go back home.

If that's what she wanted, and if Jeff was willing to play along, that would be the best course.

Briefly, Annie wondered if that's _really _what Jeff would want. After all, she was basing all this on how Jeff hurt her years ago. That kind of Jeff….wasn't as prominent anymore. Especially in the last few days.

With his recent breakthroughs, their recent reconnection, and with how Jeff had already opened up to her this week…..would he really be okay with brushing this aside again?

But the worse memories and feelings from the last few years told her it wasn't worth finding out. Not now, if ever. Not with all that she could lose – including Jeff, her heart, her self-respect and her fragile confidence that she wasn't a little girl anymore. That wasn't worth risking today, especially with the power still out and with her still living here – _staying _here temporarily!

With that, it was settled. If only for this minute. One minute at a time would have to be enough.

So Annie got cleaned up and dressed, then emerged to see Jeff still sleeping, of course. She smiled fondly, but made sure not to look or feel too fond, just in case. She needed to distract herself, so she made a go of making them breakfast this time.

Jeff woke up by the time Annie was halfway done, as she made sure to give him a good morning and a breakfast update. He didn't say anything about last night, as expected – although Annie didn't leave much room for him to say anything at all. Yet he still looked okay, if a bit uncertain a few times, when they ate their breakfast together.

Annie knew she still needed to kill more time. So she offered that they should find a public place where they could charge their cell phones and laptops. Once Jeff finally had his phone back, it would keep him occupied – and unable to lecture Annie about discretion – for the rest of the day. And if Annie had her phone and laptop available, it might keep her from thinking she was being paranoid and unfair to Jeff.

Books would help even more – and there was a perfect place to take care of all of it.

As Annie hoped, the library had some power back on. Since Annie was so well known to the staff, they allowed her and Jeff to use their power outlets. But available outlets were on opposite sides of the library, which was a….blessing, probably. So Jeff charged his phone on the left side of the building, leaving Annie to go to the right all alone.

Annie tried not to analyze how Jeff looked back at her when she left him. Instead, she focused on plugging her phone in the outlet, then on going through all the voice mails she missed since Monday night. Naturally, Troy and Abed's messages nearly made Annie laugh too loud, and Britta even managed not to mess one or two of them up.

When she was done with that, Annie used the library's wi-fi to check the Internet on her phone. But her e-mail browsing was interrupted when she found a request. A request to play Words with Friends – from Jeff.

Of course Jeff was already hard at work playing phone games again. But he'd never invited her to play with him before. In _any _way.

Annie rationalized since he was far away physically, it wouldn't be too bad for her. Plus, beating Jeff's butt off at a word game – or just beating him – sounded like fun no matter what. Yet Annie had underestimated Jeff's phone game abilities.

The two were locked in phone wordplay for almost two hours, as they went back and forth at every turn. Annie was lost in her own little world, which was nothing new in the library. And maybe nothing new with Jeff either. But this was a new way for her to do both.

For once, she wasn't reading in the library and for once, she was sharing in one of Jeff's biggest interests. Yet it was still a lot of fun for her anyway, despite the startling amount of losing.

Finally Jeff signed off, walked over to Annie and called it a draw. After all that intense competition, Annie wasn't flustered or nervous to be near him anymore. They were able to talk, go over their shared experience, and relax in each other's company like they had almost all week. Like this was normal for them.

Unlike hours ago, thinking like that didn't make Annie nervous or scared. She was having too good a time for that, and was stunned that Jeff seemed to as well. Jeff Winger having fun at a library with Annie Edison – well, that was too incredible to nitpick.

Eventually, Annie remembered she was here to power her laptop as well. That would take another two hours, so Annie let Jeff know that he could leave and come back later. Yet although they weren't playing games and were surrounded by books, Jeff stayed there with Annie anyway – for about 30 minutes before finally getting bored.

But that was 29 more minutes than Annie ever expected. For that matter, Jeff came back about 30 minutes sooner than expected as well. He only said that he was bored out there as well, so it made sense to be bored with her instead. Somehow, Annie focused on her laptop and on finding new books to check out, instead of….other things.

Finally, Jeff and Annie left the library together with their electronics powered up. But since Internet access still wouldn't work back home, there wasn't much they could do with them. So since there was still time to kill this afternoon, Annie offered they should go back to her place.

Sidestepping any other ways to interpret that, Annie reasoned that with Troy, Abed and Britta coming back tomorrow, she should make sure the apartment was still in good shape for them. She didn't outright tell him she wouldn't stay at Jeff's anymore when they returned, but she didn't have to.

Jeff's silence for much of the ride over, and for much of their visit, spoke for itself—or so half of Annie wanted to believe. The other half was still trying to act normal, think that nothing had really changed, and stay convinced that any attempt to question Jeff would disappoint her. But that half was just hanging on by a thread.

Both Annies found their latest distraction by calling Troy and Abed on their fully charged phone. She took pictures of the apartment to assure them everything was in its proper place – with Jeff even posing for one in Abed's recliner. Other than that, Jeff seemed to be content to watch Annie talk on the phone and get entertained by her roommates again.

There was one moment where Abed asked Annie if the 'climax' of her arc with Jeff would be before or after they got back. He said he wanted to know in order to avoid a clichéd 'roommates coming back during making out/sex' finale, but Annie could barely focus on that last part.

Still, she managed to turn away and quietly lay down the law to Abed about any more Jeff questions. Especially ones with words like that c-word and that s-word. Fortunately, Abed agreed and hung up the phone before Britta could ask questions.

Somehow, Annie didn't give away what they talked about to Jeff, and they managed to head out soon after. But with darkness coming soon and nothing to do now, they just drove around in silence for a while.

Ultimately, Jeff reused last night's idea of stopping somewhere for dinner. Yet he put a new wrinkle into it this time. They would order dinner, but order it to go so they could eat in Jeff's apartment – likely under candlelight.

Before Annie could dwell on that, Jeff reasoned since this was her last night at his place, they should spend much of it over there. Of course, this gave Annie a few new things to dwell on.

At least with much of the living room dark, Jeff might not see Annie fluster too much. But that became mute when he surrounded the dining room table with lit candles. In any other circumstances, and maybe in this one as well, this would be quite a romantic setting.

Annie resigned herself to savoring it, and savoring how Jeff looked in this sparse light. That and the food helped her settle down on the outside, at least. Inside, she didn't know how much longer she could hold her tongue, before she asked something she'd regret. Or gave Jeff room to give her an answer she'd regret. If that's what he was really going to do.

Is that what the new Jeff would really do?

The food and conversation barely stopped Annie from asking that out loud. Yet after a while, she was less nervous and more astonished that they kept finding things to talk about. For people that had little shared interests outside of Greendale and their friends, they still had a lot to say about almost everything. Even after four days together, they could talk about anything. Even after almost four years together too – as friends, of course.

This set Annie at ease to watch another movie on her charged laptop. Once again, she and Jeff sat next to each other on the couch, with Jeff cutting down on his 'Five-Year Engagement' bashing before Annie put on a different movie. This time, instead of falling asleep in each other's arms, they stayed quite awake. However, since it was getting cold with no heat on, Jeff got a blanket for Annie to snuggle into.

Annie snuggled into it without snuggling against Jeff, somehow. The two of them, as well as the laptop's power, got through the movie intact. Now this left just a little more time to kill before Annie could go to sleep in Jeff's bed, by herself, and finish the day without ruining anything.

"You still warm?" Jeff asked, breaking the ice by asking about the not-quite ice cold.

"Yeah, I'm good," Annie answered. "I might have been warmer in a motel with power, but I'm good," she said before she censored herself.

"What's that a reference to?" Jeff said lightly, but not that lightly.

Annie thought on what that could possibly be about, and settled on, "Well, with all the money we spent this week, we could have stayed at a motel with power and TV. Instead, we're here. And I'd rather be here than any toasty warm room right now."

Damn it, that was the swooning, childish Annie slipping through! But she wasn't in control anymore – at least not as much as usual. Maybe Annie could soften the blow by being thankful without acting like a fan girl.

"Jeff, you made these last four days fun for me. Even with barely any of my storm supplies. Or without being in my home. Only you could make me forget about all that. So whenever I leave, I don't want to go without saying thank you. Or that I'll never forget what you did for me." Okay, that was slightly sappy and suspicious, but nothing really damaging.

Jeff said nothing for several seconds, so Annie figured that was the end of it. Then she heard, "Funny how you stole my lines before I even said them. Living with Abed has really rubbed off on you." Yet Annie was too thrown by that first line to dwell on the second.

"Why were those your lines first, Jeff?" Annie asked quietly, forgetting she'd tried not to ask Jeff those revealing questions all day. But that was before he was answering them.

He answered again with, "None of this whole week should have been fun. It never would have been with _anyone _else. But with you…." He trailed off before adding, "And if you never came over on Monday, or if I let you leave, we never would have…..maybe we _never _would have," he babbled. "What does that mean?"

"I have no idea," Annie said for what may have been the first time in her life. "Do you have _any_ theories?"

"There's one I've been thinking about, longer than I should have. Or maybe I should have all along," Jeff chilled Annie to the bone.

Annie couldn't even ask what it might be, as she waited for Jeff to show her if he could. For the first time today, if not over a year, she dared to think she was right to trust him that way. And when he leaned in towards her, that faith seemed to be rewarded.

Then Jeff stopped himself, and Annie wished she was less surprised.

But just as she resigned herself to yet another failed opportunity, Jeff seemed to will himself to lean in closer. In fact, he was visibly fighting with himself to go forward. Then he started to ask, "Can I…." before truly snapping out of it.

"What am I doing?" Jeff deflated Annie. "_Asking _for it instead of just doing it, all these butterflies in my stomach, this whole freaking day…..Hell, this whole week and these whole last three years!" Instead of clarifying himself, Jeff stood up and headed for his bedroom door, but stopped before turning the doorknob.

Annie rushed over right away, only thinking about whether Jeff was okay. Anything else was too dangerous to think about. Because if she did, she'd press Jeff about….whatever they were and get hurt all over again. She'd been telling herself this all day, if not longer.

Yet when she actually saw Jeff's face right then, all of that went away. In all her fear about how to handle this, she didn't take Jeff's fear into account until now. But it was all there in his face. He was equally as lost, confused and tentative as she was, which he wouldn't be unless…..

It couldn't be. Not the same Jeff Winger who shattered her for over a year. But that Jeff Winger….hadn't been around all week. He hadn't been there for the last several months, now that Annie thought about it.

Come to think of it, this new Jeff who was more open, emotional and affectionate with her…..he'd been around a lot longer than a few months. And with that, all of Jeff's fond smiles, semi-flirting and one-on-one adventures with Annie last year were seen in a brand new light. Or maybe Annie finally saw them the way she should have all along.

While she was working to bury her feelings for Jeff, Jeff had been opening up all along. And she was too scared and consumed by the past to see it. But now that she had, he was getting scared all over again. Probably in part because she'd tried to act unaffected all day – and now _he _was unsure of how making a move would turn out.

"This isn't me…." Jeff muttered to himself. It both broke and filled Annie's heart to hear it, and it was likely reflected in her eyes when she lifted his chin up. At least she hoped it was.

"Yes it is," Annie all but whispered, just as she realized the truth of those words. And just as she realized what she wanted to do about it. What she may have never stopped wanting to do.

However, she still treaded slowly, just in case. Yet the closer she leaned in, the more Jeff didn't budge. Unlike Jeff moments earlier, Annie leaned in the rest of the way and connected her lips with his.

It was by far the slowest, softest kiss she'd ever given him, as it was downright romantic. But she didn't know if it was a good sign that Jeff wasn't moving.

Annie broke away and almost stood on her tip toes out of nerves – just as she did after the first Transfer Dance kiss. What's more, the end result was the same.

But this time, when Jeff leaned back in to kiss Annie, he practically devoured her.

Two-and-a-half years of pent-up tension were unlocked in Jeff's savage kiss. Then one second after he broke off and thought about what he'd done, Annie unlocked her own tension. After a second of Annie devouring Jeff's mouth, they finally devoured each other equally.

Once they started, they couldn't find any willpower to stop. In fact, Jeff couldn't even be bothered to take Annie to bed. He just put his hands above her breasts, then Annie forced them lower after Jeff hesitated for a split second. After a few seconds of fondling, Annie glided Jeff's hands down even lower on her body, until he put them between her legs himself.

To balance it out, Annie put her hand on his belt, then started unbuckling it like a woman possessed. They were both out of their own bodies and minds at the moment, as Jeff pushed Annie against the bedroom door after their undergarments were out of the way. Thoughts of a bed, comfort or even condoms were nowhere to be found – they just needed release right _now_.

Yet Jeff found time to gasp out, "This won't take long," in order to warn Annie.

In response, Annie barely breathed out, "I don't care," and wrapped her arm and legs around him. With that last concern out of the way, Jeff lifted Annie up, pressed her against the door and mindlessly shoved himself in.

If Jeff or Annie still had minds, they were gone in that very second. The only thing in Annie's world was the sensation of being filled so deeply – and vice versa for Jeff. When the slight discomfort faded away, all Annie wanted was _more, more, more_, despite how Jeff hadn't even started yet. And how he wasn't going to give her much for too long at this rate.

But if Annie didn't care, Jeff wouldn't either. So he pulled back slowly and then thrusted back in before Annie could catch her breath. He repeated the slow/fast pattern a few more times, then just stayed fast from then on in. In fact, Jeff had never been this fast in his life – and this wouldn't be the last time he was faster than ever in this tryst.

Until that inevitable quick end, however, Jeff would pound Annie for all she was worth, which was a considerable amount. And Annie would do the exact same, as best she could in this position and mindset. But although she felt mindless and out of control for once, she wouldn't let it be an excuse for half-assing this.

Annie's hips had a mind of their own as they rode Jeff within an inch of her life. Her mouth could do nothing but hang open, let out scream after scream, and occasionally brush Jeff's neck and face. Her eyes were so glazed over that she could barely see, but she fought through the haze to try and see Jeff's face.

When she did, seeing Jeff so wild-eyed and out of control – because of _little Annie Adderall_ – made her hotter and wetter than she'd ever imagined. Before she knew it, she gasped, "Oh, _fuck_, Jeff," which made Jeff's eyes darken right in front of her. On that note, she felt him pump harder, deeper and faster than ever, and that made her do the exact same.

Those final rapid-fire thrusts were enough to push them both over the top. It almost felt like Jeff went first, as he pressed his forehead hard against hers when he did. When that made her go too, she pushed her forehead right back against his, as both closed their eyes and struggled to start breathing again.

The first feeling that they were conscious of was their….releases dripping down their crotches. Next they remembered that their foreheads were pressed together, then they remembered to open their eyes. They just stared at each other as they got their other senses back, while taking in how they'd never seen their partner's eyes like this. No matter how often they'd gotten lost in them.

Annie soon sensed that the moment was almost over – and when it ended, they could well ruin it with awkward silences, uncertainty and the need to talk. She couldn't let that happen yet. Not when she'd barely gotten to savor him at last.

So she went back to work kissing Jeff and trailing her lips down to his neck, properly tasting his skin for the first time. She should have been too worn out to do anything, yet her adrenaline was still at a record high. With those moves, so was Jeff's as well – as he proved by saying, "I _know _I've got more than that."

To start backing that up, Jeff lifted Annie's head back up so he could kiss her lips. While it was less passionate than before, it was still intense and made them want even more. They'd had more just a minute ago, but this time Jeff had the mindset to open the door and let Annie have it in bed.

Once he took Annie to his bed and laid her down, he ran as quickly as possible to find candles, lay them near the bed and light them up. His hands seemed to shake as he tried to light the matches in a hurry, but he ultimately got it done.

Now Jeff could see Annie better, yet he still muttered, "I still can't see enough," which did even _more _things to Annie. After all, she couldn't see Jeff enough to properly ogle his body either. But it would help if there weren't so many clothes in the way.

Annie signaled what she wanted by removing her cardigan and finally getting her skirt off. Jeff followed by removing his shirt and underwear, then got the last of his clothes off right before Annie did. Although it wasn't bright enough for them to fully take in their naked bodies, they made an effort to try anyway.

Jeff snapped out of his trance first by getting on the bed and hovering above Annie. He wasn't hard enough to penetrate her again – though not for a lack of inspiration – but it was all right for now. He passed the wait by kissing down her neck, chest, stomach and all the other parts of Annie he wished he could see better.

When he landed at his final destination between her legs, he took a quick, teasing lick to make Annie moan. After another few quick licks, her moaning got insistent and impatient, so Jeff stepped up his efforts. He circled his tongue all around her vagina before finally dipping inside, then made Annie gasp and groan by nipping her with his teeth.

Annie resorted to arching her back and pushing her crotch against Jeff's face. Her hands rested on his shoulders, trying as best she could to massage them and feel some of his muscles. But the feeling of Jeff's tongue and lips on her was a far more overwhelming feeling, so she settled on grabbing his hair. She didn't even think about how Jeff hated having his hair touched – but neither did Jeff.

Jeff soon got his hands into the mix as they opened Annie up further. Before long, it was like he was French kissing her vagina, and being even more thorough. And despite how Annie had barely recovered from coming the first time, she felt herself _needing _to come again.

"Jeff, Jeff, please, Jeff," Annie called, practically begging at this point. In any other circumstance, she'd feel kind of stupid for being that needy – but this wasn't any other circumstance. It was one where Annie soon exploded uncontrollably for the second time, only all over Jeff's face this time.

Instead of licking her clean, Jeff left Annie as wet as he could on purpose. Now that he was fully hard again, he wanted to fuck her while she was as sopping wet as possible. But somehow, he waited until Annie noticed him lining up, and waited for her to nod her approval.

As tired as Annie was getting, she still needed him inside her one more time tonight. Maybe he'd even last longer – yet after he thrust all the way in and groaned, she kind of doubted it'd be _that _longer. Nevertheless, she liked that she was sandwiched in between Jeff and his comfy bed this time.

Jeff started inside her and tried to go slower than before. But when Annie wrapped her legs around his hips, he went faster in spite of himself. Still, while they got faster over time, it wasn't as rapid as it was before. This allowed Annie to compose herself and remember to kiss and nuzzle Jeff at the same time.

She rested her lips against Jeff's left ear, nibbling it for a bit and then just moaning inside it. This made Jeff go faster and groan louder, which wasn't lost on Annie. She pushed her hips back against his, which made her moan longer into his ear, which made him go harder – and so the cycle went on and on.

"Fuck it, Annie, you're so fucking…." Jeff trailed off. Annie figured he was searching for an extravagant, curse-filled word – but instead, he finished by simply saying, "Beautiful."

Annie was filled with warmth that _wasn't _between her legs, yet Jeff made that warmer too by putting his hand down there. However, he soon took it away and turned Annie on her side, putting his hand directly on her ass. Being in this new position and having Jeff's large hand cover much of her ass made Annie feel impossibly warmer.

She responded by kissing and all but biting Jeff's ear, then went back to groaning into it. Once this made Jeff go faster, she used her words – words she never imagined using before. Not even in her old Jeff fantasies.

Yet she still let herself say, "Oh, fuck me, Jeff," and "I want to cum again," and even "I need you to cum all over me again." Both of them never thought she'd say any of that. But Annie was tired of denying it was what she wanted all along. What she'd wanted for about three years, no matter how much Jeff and Annie herself told her otherwise.

Mere moments later, she got it again and more.

When Jeff and Annie finished their latest orgasms, Jeff was on his back and Annie was lying right on top of him, her face lying on his broad left shoulder. Annie knew she couldn't move from that position, and she didn't really want to. What's more, she didn't have to.

And for the rest of the night, she didn't. For that matter, Jeff didn't either.


	5. Chapter 5

**Friday, Jan. 11, 2013**

**Day Five, morning**

Jeff and Annie weren't drunk the previous night – not on alcohol, anyway. But they each felt hung over when they woke up the next morning. Jeff was the first, waking up to see a naked, sleeping Annie lying on top of him in his bed.

Jeff felt like he was in a trance last night, forgetting everything but Annie – _all _of Annie. But now the spell had worn off and reality had set back in. Before he could take that in, however, Annie woke up as well.

She didn't look Disney-like or smile first thing in the morning, as Jeff had always imagined….once in a while. She just looked up at him, with her chin still on his chest, and instantly saw all the conflict in his face. This made her face look conflicted as well, which made Jeff feel and fear the worst.

However, instead of freaking out or crying, Annie just sat up and stayed quiet. Jeff waited for her to speak, and the longer she didn't, the more he started to wish she would freak out. At least that would be more understandable than this.

"Do we pretend this never happened now?" Annie asked, as her own trance had all but worn off too. Seeing those familiar looks of doubt and guilt on Jeff's face made her forget everything she discovered last night, as she was back to assuming the worst from him. Her only goal now was to make sure she didn't cry while Jeff warned her about discretion again.

Yet this was his only warning. "Annie, I told myself something a long time ago. If this ever happened, I wasn't going to just slip out. Not like I'd do with other women….or like I did to you after the Tranny dance."

Jeff's confidence to continue wavered a bit, just as Annie's confidence built up again. She got herself to look at him as he finished, "So….any time you want to talk about this, you won't have to barricade the door first. I'll still be here." He quickly added, "But you might want to do it quick, just in case. Fair warning."

"Oh, right, right!" Annie blurted, wondering how much he was joking. Yet she knew she had just a brief window to get some truth out of Jeff. It would be best to start simple, so she warmed up with, "So you don't regret what we did?"

"We could have had better lighting, but the rest was fine," Jeff quipped. Annie didn't know whether to be relieved or mad that he was joking. However, he didn't have a joking tone when he added, "If you want to be technical, it was….one of the_ finest_ I've ever had. And you should know that's high praise."

"I do. That should gross me out, but I do," Annie responded, happy that she was poking fun now.

But her mood was deflated again when Jeff muttered, "But…." He didn't finish, yet Annie could guess the rest.

"But you don't think we should do it again. Or anything else more….serious," Annie finished for him.

Jeff's throat was caught, in lue of an actual answer. He could almost hear a voice yelling for him to take it back, lay Annie down and give her the encore of the century. However, the rest of him was paralyzed – and he didn't even think he knew why.

Annie was still too, albeit barely. In fact, she started muttering to herself, as Jeff thought she heard her say, "Be an adult this time, Edison." Once she allegedly said that, she took a few deep breaths and put everything she had into looking at Jeff.

"All right…..just tell me why this time. Just give me that much," Annie said as evenly as she could. "Is it still my age? I'm old enough to sleep with now, but I'm still too young for everything else, is that it?"

"No!" Jeff insisted, louder and more forceful than either expected. "You're 22 now, that's plenty old for a lot of stuff," he surprised them both. They each took a minute to take that in, before Annie had her next theory.

"Do you think I'll act clingy and childish again if we did anything else?" Annie guessed.

"No!" Jeff stunned himself by being more forceful – and even a bit offended. He calmed down and then reasoned, "You were only like that before because I left you hanging, and because you were young. You're older and wiser now, and I'm not letting you hang this time, am I?"

Annie gave a very small smile, which emboldened Jeff to finish, "You're not a clingy child, Annie. And I never want to make you think you are again. Okay?"

Jeff felt lighter when Annie gave her first adoring Jeff-smile of the morning, and when she added a quiet, flattered "Okay" at the end. But her face went blank again a moment later, as she concluded, "So it's not the age, or me being a child, for once. Then what's left?"

Jeff didn't answer and started to wonder if he ever could. This left Annie to guess again, predicting, "If it's not me, then that leaves you. _You _don't want a relationship with me, since you can't have it with anyone. Right?"

This would be the perfect excuse to get out of it. And it was technically true, since Jeff Winger was not a relationship man. Annie would never question that truth, even if she hated it. And yet as Jeff got ready to say she was right, he actually began to think it over. Which led him to think about a few more things.

Annie waited for an answer, and it finally came to Jeff just as he realized it. "No….that's not it," he was shocked to discover. "I can't have a real relationship with anyone….except _you_."

Jeff ignored Annie's stunned gasp, as more realizations flooded his mind. He spoke them at the same time they came to him, starting with, "Annie, we've technically been dating this whole week! And it's been better than any relationship I've ever had. Having dinner, talking without watching TV, talking without using my phone, talking without having sex! I couldn't stand any of that with anyone else….just you. If I can do that, maybe the other stuff wouldn't be so bad."

"Well, that's some vote of confidence," Annie said with a shaky voice. Why it was shaking, she wasn't ready to figure out yet.

"Annie, I've never been in a real relationship that could go anywhere. But you know what? You haven't either," Jeff figured out. Before she could utter the word 'Vaughn,' Jeff continued with, "As smart as we are, we _both _don't know how to do this stuff!"

Before Annie could object and speak up for her smarts, Jeff added, "But that means we're on the same page. And on those rare times we are, we usually do pretty well! Like this whole week!"

As it all sunk in, Jeff kept speaking with, "I still don't know how to make all this work for real. But knowing you're in the same boat that I am, it makes me feel….reassured. Like I'm not alone. Like maybe we can figure this out as we go along together. Heck, you're such a quick learner, I can let you balance me out while I learn on the job!"

"That's not my favorite way to learn, but…." Annie had nothing else, as she was still too overwhelmed. Part of her wanted to jump into Jeff's arms right now and celebrate. But while two-years-ago Annie would have done that, older, wiser Annie had enough willpower to remember a key detail.

"Then what's the but? Why else shouldn't we be together?" she asked. With Jeff not answering again, she took one last guess. "All I've got left is that you don't want to hurt me. Jeff, you _know _I've survived a lot worse than you! Even old jackass you!"

"I know, all right?" Jeff nearly yelled, as his inability to guess his real problem was getting to him. "You're the strongest person I've ever met, of _course _you'd get over me! I just…."

And then Jeff got it. After three years of denial, he finally got it.

And then he finally understood what Britta told him on Wednesday night.

Then he laid down and groaned as loud as he did last night, for far less fun reasons. "Oh, I miss old, incompetent Britta _soooo_ much," Jeff lamented.

"Okay, that's your weirdest answer yet," Annie composed herself to add.

Jeff didn't respond right away. After denying the _real _reason he didn't want Annie for so long, accepting it would take a while. Especially since he now had no choice but to tell her in a minute. So he fast tracked the process as best he could, so he might be able to explain as best he could.

"Annie…." Jeff stalled to buy time. "Maybe I _could _have a real relationship with you. But I _know _I couldn't handle….what happens after."

"What happens after?" Annie was puzzled over. "You mean marriage? Jeff, I'm not going to use the marriage binder on you! Not for a few years, anyway!"

"That's not it!" Jeff said for hopefully the last time. "Annie, whether we get married or not, we're not going to stay together forever! You and I _both _know how rare that is! Eventually we would break up or get divorced or die separately, and when that happens…."

This time, Jeff stopped talking out of emotion, not confusion. He composed himself just enough to clarify, "You _are _the strongest person I know. And the smartest, sexiest and sweetest, just to rub it in. That means more than age or being a child sometimes, and I probably knew that from the start. And I couldn't hurt you because _no one _can, not forever! That's why I couldn't…."

With all that set up, he could finish, "You'd get over losing me, but….I could never get over losing you. No matter who's fault it was, how it happened or when it happened….when it's over, who knows if I could go…."

"Go what?" Annie asked, despite knowing the answer.

"On," Jeff barely finished. Yet instead of feeling humiliated and stupid for being so 'emo', he kept going.

"Annie, let's face it. What do I have to go back to if I lost you? My old pre-Greendale life doesn't cut it anymore, and you'd get all our friends in the divorce. And what's the point of being good and better if my best wasn't enough to keep you? Hell, if I'm thinking this _before _we get together, how am I gonna feel after a month or a year, or _two _years?" Jeff rhetorically asked. "Like losing you would….mess me up for good. I mean, it's _you,_ so why wouldn't it?" he asked just as rhetorically.

"So….your whole reason for being happy and good would be me?" Annie decoded. "That's…."

"Emotional blackmail, I know!" Jeff beat her to the punch.

"Kind of," Annie had to agree. "You can't put all that on me, Jeff. I did that to you two years ago, and look how it turned out! I don't deserve that kind of pressure!" She got quieter and added, "I'm, I'm not _that _special, Jeff…."

"We both know that's not true," Jeff solemnly nitpicked. "If I let myself have you, I'm not going to want to stop. Then I'll forget that….well, _everything _stops eventually. And then when we end, what'll I have left? Nothing that'll be enough after having you."

"So it's not worth being with me because you'll lose me? Jeff, by that logic, there's no point in being friends, either! There's no point in having _anyone_!" Annie noted, regaining her fighting spirit.

"It won't be so bad when I lose you as a friend. Not like losing you as….whatever else you can be," Jeff reasoned. "I've lost so much in my life, losing that would be the last straw. If I forget that, it'll be like I'm signing my own death warrant. Whether that gets cashed in a year from now, or 50, it won't matter. It all ends the same way."

Now Jeff was ashamed of being that sappy and out of character – no matter how right he was. He looked away, hoping he'd have a few seconds before Annie started crying. Yet the first sound he heard out of her was laughter.

When he turned back, Annie was laughing and looking as relieved as he'd ever seen her. "That's it?" Annie finally asked. "I thought you were ashamed of liking me! But you just don't want to deal with breaking up?"

"Because we will! And then-" Jeff started before Annie jumped in.

"And then you'll be fine, Jeff!" Annie insisted. "Even if we break up and I hate you, do you honestly think I'd _ever _let you be that miserable? Or that I wouldn't Disney-eye our friends to cheer you up for me? With my luck, I'll be Disney-eyed till I'm 50, so I might as well use it for something!"

"60 is probably about right," Jeff tried to deflect. But Annie wasn't thrown off.

"Jeff, you know me. I've freaked out over losing people too. I got Chang fired because I didn't want to lose you guys! But I'm not that afraid anymore, because you and the others helped me know better," Annie reminded.

"So you won't expose unqualified psychopaths in the future. That's different from my thing," Jeff countered. "I told you, you can handle one more person leaving you, I can't. I'm not good at it."

"And you always think you will be?" Annie asked. "Just like you _always _thought you didn't want or need friends. Like you _always _thought you didn't need to face your dad. Like you always thought not being a lawyer was the worst thing in the world. Like you always thought you couldn't handle a relationship with me, until a few minutes ago," she finished a bit cocky. "The things you _always _thought have always been wrong these last few years, Jeff. What does that tell you?"

"This is the exception that proves the rule," Jeff shot back. "You can't get around that! No one stays together forever!"

"I'd rather come close than have nothing!" Annie cut him down. "And now you're ready to admit we _could _come close. That's all I need to know."

"How does that make sense, exactly?" Jeff inquired.

"Jeff, you made me feel like a child for years for liking you. Regardless of how I _did _act like one," Annie admitted. "I wrote us off because I didn't want to let you hurt me again, like you did back then. But now I know you _do _like me and you _do _want something real with me! Knowing that is all I need."

"It shouldn't be…." Jeff said less than convincingly.

"Jeff, it'll be okay either way," Annie assured. "I've lost too many things in my life too. But every time I do, I get something better than I ever imagined. That's how I got Greendale, all my friends and you. And every time you've lost something, it's worked out for you too. Even though it's taken longer for you," she semi-joked.

There was no response from Jeff, so Annie moved in for the kill. "I wouldn't trade my time with you or the group for anything. Not even after I lost you all someday. And that's how I feel about us. You admitted we have a real chance to work now, and now I think you're right. And I think any months or years we share will be more than enough to make the end okay. If they're anything like the last four days, I have no doubt. And I think part of you has no doubt either."

Annie sighed and got up on her feet. "I can take that risk again, now that I know how you feel. And that's why I'm going to go."

"Go? Is that some ironic joke?" Jeff pondered.

"No, it means I'm going out to buy lunch. I still have some money left, and I know the route to the store by now," Annie reminded Jeff as she put on her clothes. "You can let me know what else you want to do later."

"So I have to change my whole way of thinking before you come back? That's your deadline?" Jeff frowned.

"There's no deadline, Jeff. I should have led with that," Annie conceded as she zipped up her skirt. "I made my case for why we should be together, and I did it like an adult. This time, if you reject me, I can hold my head up high. It'll hurt, but I know I can live with that in the end. So since I've done all I can do, I'm leaving the rest to you."

"How?" was all jeff could ask.

"I won't say anything else about this until you do. I won't influence your decision, I won't give you a deadline, and I won't be mad if you don't say anything today. Or even if you're still quiet when we go back to Greendale next week," Annie promised. "You decide what you want at your own pace, in your own way, and I won't interfere at all. Whatever we become as a result is all up to you now."

"And you're okay with that? Giving me that kind of control? Knowing my history?" Jeff couldn't understand.

"Jeff, I know I wasn't wrong to fall for you. That's the greatest gift you could have given me this week," Annie praised. "And I know how hard this is for you, I really do. So you deserve to figure the rest out without any more pressure from me. And you've made me ready to risk whatever comes from it," she shared. "So whenever you're ready, I am too. No matter what."

A fully clothed Annie sighed and smiled, "But I'm pretty worn out right now, so I need an energy boost first. A good walk and buying a nice lunch should help for starters. I'll be back soon, okay?" Jeff didn't move a muscle, so Annie took that cue to walk out.

As strong and steely as Annie was in front of Jeff, she still almost collapsed from her nerves when she was out of sight. But she kept her heavy breathing quiet so he couldn't hear her, and reminded herself she was making the right call. She was finally doing things right now, and it was time to trust Jeff to do the same again, on his terms. No matter how much control she was giving up.

But in a week with a super storm, four straight days with Jeff, out of control sex and actual honesty, a lack of control was working pretty well so far. That was worth taking one more chance. _He _was worth it, no matter how uncomfortably fragile she'd made him.

Yet who was she to judge him for being fragile? If she could learn to handle her emotions better, he could too. Maybe some alone time to think would help him believe that.

So she found her coat, went to the door, opened it, and left to start taking her last leap of faith. Hopefully the store had a nice salad to nourish her while she fell.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to all who read and those who commented. The finale, like chap 4, is rated M for some more smut.**

**Friday, Jan. 11, 2013**

**Day Five, afternoon**

Jeff literally didn't move a muscle right after Annie left. Yet his skeleton almost jumped out of his body when he heard Annie coming back. Fortunately, she called out that she just forgot her laptop and would power it back up in the library while she was out. At least that would keep her out much longer.

Once Jeff heard her leave again, he laid back on the bed and froze up again. What else could he do? After he started moving again, he'd have to make….decisions. Decisions Annie should never have placed on him.

Did he not explain it clearly enough? Didn't it sink in that if he and Annie were together, it'd leave his life in ruins when it was over? He just realized it after three years of pushing it down in his gut – if he could accept it now, she should too!

It made all the sense in the world. He couldn't take comfort from being a douchebag again when she was gone, and none of the other good things from his new life would stick around or be enough either. Once any relationship with Annie ended, Jeff would have nothing to get him through the rest of his life, so why fall into that trap? Annie was more than smart enough to get that.

Instead, she put on that silly act about letting him decide, as if it was really a choice. As if she wouldn't make him look like an asshole for actually being smart. Could she be any more of a naïve, silly child?

Wait. Hadn't he told her she was _never_ those things? And hadn't he just given away when he made her feelings look naïve and silly, he was lying? Yeah, it'd be hard to get around that.

That didn't change the facts! They would lose each other, and it would end with Jeff being unable to love anything else again. There was no getting around that, no matter how much he wished there was!

Wait again. Wished there was?

Jeff had never wished for that before. He'd never really wished for anything in his life, other than things for himself. Wishes were for children and delusional adults, which was what Annie kept turning him into. But if it was possible….

Jeff held on once more at that thought. He was wishing to be together forever with Annie, even though they weren't even dating. No one, not even Annie, is that serious that quickly without being insane. Even if Jeff was capable of being together that long with someone, it'd still be insane. Hell, he never willingly spent an entire day with just one person until this week, let alone _five days_!

And it was one of the best five-day stretches of his life.

But it would be over this afternoon when she went back home. Like everything ends. Like they would end. And there'd be nothing he could do about it.

Even though he did everything possible to extend this week.

At every turn, when Annie could have left a lot sooner, Jeff did something to make her stay. He put an _effort _into keeping someone around, which is just…..not supposed to happen.

He wasn't supposed to let her be here for so long. He wasn't supposed to sleep on the couch with her. He wasn't supposed to eat dinner, go shopping, fondly watch her take care of kids, play around in the library with her, or have utterly mind-blowing sex that should have been in the light!

But he made all of that happen. And it turned out…..gloriously.

Prolonging something as long as possible made it glorious. And even though it would end today….those were still incredible moments he would remember forever. And wish he could have more of.

But when Jeff and Annie ended permanently, he couldn't have more of it ever again! And that would kill him!

Then he'd have to put it off as long as possible.

That would be easier if he kept adding wonderful moments with her. And if he added enough of them for a really long time…..maybe that would sustain him for a _little while _when it was over. Like the last five days would sustain him for quite a while when she left tonight. So maybe if he had enough memories for 30 or 40 years….

Now Jeff really had to stop himself. He was _not _a person who could stay with someone for 40 years! That would mean getting married and having a family, and that was out! Even if there was only one person he could see himself doing that with.

But he wasn't ready now! He wouldn't be ready to want that for a long time! It was ridiculous to think of that stuff with Annie now!

Yet….if it ever stopped being ridiculous, maybe it wouldn't be so bad by then.

He wasn't ready for that long term stuff now, and wouldn't be for the immediate future.

But what if he wanted to be someday?

What if he tried a relationship that wasn't just for his own pleasure or kicks – but to help him be ready for something more down the line?

If he had more of those great moments with Annie along the way, might that help him be ready faster? Would it make him feel…..all right about it if it did?

It might if it was with the right person. And if Annie was anything, she was….

She was back in the apartment. If the sound of a door closing was any indication. Wait, she was back already?

But when Jeff finally got dressed and left the bedroom, he saw she'd been gone for two hours. _That _was how much time flew by. Well, it flew by effortlessly with Annie here, so thinking about her would do it too.

Annie looked calm, perhaps way too calm. But she was putting on a brave face anyway. She was always trying to be brave and prove to herself she could be. Even when any doubt about her courage should have been killed four years ago. Nevertheless, she went on as if she'd said and offered nothing to Jeff hours ago.

She even stayed calm when she explained she also went back to her house – to make sure she still had morning after pills. When Jeff realized they forgot all about condoms, he almost freaked out as much on the outside as he had on the inside all morning. Albeit maybe not as much as when he had unprotected sex before, with other people.

But Annie had found her pills and already took one of them, so they were good. Jeff calmed down, yet briefly felt guilty that they were too out of control to be careful last night. That almost told him all he needed to tell himself about how destructive they'd be together.

"Jeff, it's okay," Annie broke in to tell him. "We were a little….dicey, but I found a way out of it. We usually do. No matter how out of control or dangerous something is, nothing's irreversible. It took me a long time to understand that."

Nothing's irreversible. That sounded somewhat familiar from this morning. All of Jeff's irreversible beliefs had been reserved in the last few years and the last few days, as Annie said. All except one.

But if nothing was irreversible, then by definition, that one stubborn belief about nothing lasting forever – and nothing being worth the pain at the end because of it – could be reversed. All it would take is some effort. Like Annie put in for everything every day, and like Jeff put in all week because he wanted Annie around.

So if he kept putting that effort in….

Jeff never put that effort into anything. Yet he just proved to himself that he would for this, if he could. And if anything was irreversible, then Jeff _could _reverse course, try to keep Annie around for a long time – and try to make it worth it even after she was gone. And since Jeff had made out well every time he made an effort for Annie – even if he wouldn't admit it to her most of the time – then by that logic….

This made Jeff's head spin a little too much. So he focused on making sure Annie didn't notice, then decided to take a break and have the lunch she bought for them.

The lunch wasn't exactly comfortable, as the silence filled up with all the things they couldn't or wouldn't say. Yet Annie still kept the conversation flowing anyway, and even made Jeff say a few words as well. She did get out of his hair to read some books in his bedroom for a while, although just having her in there – especially last night – was enough to set him on edge.

But when she returned and watched her TV show DVDs on the laptop, Jeff watched with her and didn't make it more awkward. In fact, it would have been more awkward for him if she wasn't here. Having her here and seeing her power through made him feel….not so alone.

Like he didn't ever have to be so alone. Like being on the same page and sharing his fears with someone made it okay. Because she would be there to make him feel better if he asked, even if she couldn't feel better herself – and he would do the same for her.

This was basically the same thing he told her this morning – the same reason he realized that being in a relationship with her would be okay. Knowing she was there, setting an example for him, would make everything okay. So okay that he felt like he could do anything with her there – and wanted to do everything for her.

Because he wanted her. He wanted this. Whether they were eating lunch quietly, bantering loudly or doing anything else loudly, he wanted this. All of it. In every way – at least eventually. So much so that he would try anything to delay the ending as long as possible.

Jeff never tried to do so many things. But just this _once, _wouldn't it be worth it to try in _one _thing? With the thousands of things he still never put an effort into, the math still kind of worked out.

And when it was over…..if he put enough effort into it, there wouldn't be that much life left to live without her anyway. Since he couldn't live forever and all – and for once, thinking about that wasn't so bad.

At least it wouldn't be if he found the right way to run out the clock. Not if she was worth trying to keep around as long as possible. And that was the one thing Jeff never doubted about Annie.

With that in mind, Jeff was emboldened to look at her as she watched her shows, with her focus all too close. From that, without even thinking, Jeff let out a word he hadn't used in a long time.

"Milady?"

Jeff couldn't remember the last time he called her that. He somewhat recalled that it was after a particularly big screw up and wasn't met well. But this time, when Annie heard her old nickname, she lit up in surprise and awe.

Then her face turned back into that adoring Jeff face he couldn't get enough of. Especially when it came with her asking "Milord?" in such a sweet, playful, teasing – but still kind of cautious tone.

Jeff usually told himself not to get so entranced by Annie that he forgot harsh reality. But when that face, that voice and that name melted the rest of his fragile defenses, he decided reality wasn't worth paying attention to.

A second later, he paid much more attention to pressing his lips against Annie's. Then the feel of her cheek and hair against his hands took up his focus, until she finally kissed back.

Jeff savored all these things for a full minute before they broke apart. When he opened his eyes, he almost smirked at how Annie looked so red. Yet he almost genuinely smiled when her eyes opened and blinded him with their relief and joy.

"The one time you _don't _put off a decision, _this_ happens? Huh…." Anne trailed off in awe.

"I guess I procrastinated on procrastinating this time. If anyone could master that, right?" Jeff attempted to lighten up. It resulted in Annie kissing Jeff again, so it worked just fine.

"Jeff, I promise I won't go overboard with this," Annie promised after breaking off. "I won't treat this like a fairy tale, I'll give you space, and I won't get carried away like before! I won't be the kind of child I would have been if this happened earlier, okay?"

"Annie, listen," Jeff started, in the most serious voice he could ever remember using. "If we're _really _doing this, I have conditions. Just one, really." Once Annie settled down to hear it, Jeff negotiated with, "Stop worrying about acting like a child. And stop worrying about if I think you're one. That's two conditions, but we can quibble semantics another time."

"Jeff, these aren't semantics," Annie tried to respond.

"Annie, you don't have to be perfect for me," Jeff assured. "Technically, you're as imperfect as possible. But I…..care about you _exactly _the way you are."

"The way I am _now_," Annie prematurely added.

"That too, but not just that," Jeff qualified. "If you think I'm good enough the way I am, there is _no way _you're gonna think you're not perfect for me, just as you are. I'm only sorry I didn't say that earlier. Or that no one else was smart enough to tell you either. But that'll change now. That'll be my first boyfriend promise, _if_ you agree to my terms. Deal?"

Jeff didn't want to make Annie laugh with that, but she chuckled anyway. With a smile, she answered, "Deal" and shook his hand comically. Even in this long overdue moment, they were finding a way to make it funny and fun.

Perhaps that was worth putting the end off as long as possible – and worth doing whatever it took to put it off. Even all the lame, pointless couple-y things Jeff had ridiculed since he was a little kid. Maybe even that one specific couple thing Jeff trashed at Shirley's re-wedding a year ago.

He didn't have to be ready to take that on yet, especially since he wasn't. Yet for the first time, it didn't fill him with dread to potentially face it someday.

Yet the important thing right now was today, not the far off future – or past. Jeff finally understood that now.

The important thing was Annie still holding his hand, and now snuggling up against Jeff, as they went back to watching her DVD. However, this suddenly wasn't how Jeff wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon.

"There is still one thing we didn't get to do this week. Or last night," Jeff set up. "My eyesight wasn't as good as it should have been in the dark. And we only have a few hours of daylight left now…..so…." he barely tried to be subtle.

"Well, if you think we need to shake up our dull sex lives already," Annie teased, looking quite proud of herself for teasing him, even now – and even with her own evident nerves about doing it with Jeff again. Especially in this new context.

However, the last time was an out of control, undefined free-for-all to get their tension out of the way. This time, Jeff went in to kiss her much slower, with much more ease and relaxation. Now that they finally knew what they were to each other, there was no need to back off, lose their minds or panic over how the other would see them. Now they could savor each other as slowly and leisurely as they wanted.

Still, Jeff wanted to hurry this along while he had the chance. But instead of pushing Annie against the door and rushing to get her in bed, he merely walked her back to his room. When they sat down, Jeff began to unbutton his shirt, with his hands shaking much less than last night – although Annie almost caught them trembling a little.

Annie followed Jeff's lead this time, removing her cardigan for the second time in just under 20 hours. They each focused on getting the rest of their clothes off, then got to work taking each other in when they were finished.

Jeff saw all of Annie last night, even in the dark – yet seeing her bare and clear in the light forged an entirely different sensation. Now he could really take in all of the curves, creamy skin and perfect shapes that had taunted him for years. In return, Annie could ogle Jeff's bare chest in a new context – and finally get a look at everything down below. After all, she never actually _saw _what filled her up so deeply twice over.

"Annie…." Jeff muttered, his eyes darting from her chest down to her groin, and then back to her face. Strangely, he lingered on her face longer than he did the other body parts. But then he remembered to include his hands in the equation, and glided them up and down her waist. Since he could feel her skin and see where to caress her, he let out a low moan that did things to Annie.

At that point, she'd had enough, impulsively pushing Jeff onto the bed. For someone who was so rarely impulsive, she was getting good at it right away. "I never got to take this all in either," she reminded Jeff, before lying on top of him and putting her head onto his chest.

Annie mimicked exactly what Jeff wanted to do, only his breasts weren't as easy to suck on. Nevertheless, she made a show of kissing his nipples and trailing her lips and tongue across his chest. She made "Mmmm" sounds like she was devouring a delicious feast – and Jeff knew that he certainly had a bountiful feast available. Yet despite all the women who'd eaten it before, none did it with as much passion and attention to detail as Annie.

"Jesus…..all this from a unicorn?" Jeff gasped out as Annie's tongue glided up and down his abs.

"I've had time to imagine going up the animal kingdom," Annie retorted. She didn't waste time clarifying it or finding a better one-liner, as she just wanted to keep kissing and nuzzling Jeff's stomach. By then, Jeff was in no position to quibble.

Annie's hands went back to his chest and massaged as many muscles and pecs as she possibly could. Her gentle but insistent touch, along with her even gentler kisses and nibbles, made Jeff's excitement…..rather noticeable. Especially when it was now pressed against her own chest.

"So that's what I freaked out about at the STD fair?" Annie asked when she noticed Jeff's erection.

"Really? That's the first thing you bring up? You know this isn't your first peek at me," Jeff reminded.

"But I'm not pretending to cover my eyes . And there's not another old naked man to distract you, is there?" Annie pointed out before looking back down at Jeff. She wasn't as jittery as she was when she saw her first fake penis, yet she was still a little nervous. However, she managed to place her thumb and forefinger on Jeff's tip and try a few experimental rubs, which made Jeff throw his head back.

Intrigued, Annie rubbed his head slower and deeper, then wrapped her other hand around his shaft. Like a good learner, Annie saw what worked and continued from there, pumping him as carefully as she could while swirling her thumb over his tip. Her lips moved closer as she rubbed his top and shaft, combining to make Jeff very anxious.

After a final deep rub of his head, Annie placed her lips right above it. Instead of suckling it, she tried a little kiss to start off. By now, even that small contact from her lips was enough to nearly make Jeff go off.

Emboldened, she kissed his tip a few more times, getting softer and more passionate each time. It was a more tender treatment than what Jeff was used to down there, but he still felt like a volcano about to erupt.

Just for kicks, Annie's hand slid down to cup his balls, as her lips finally slurped up his head. The two combined sensations, along with Annie's eyes looking intently at him for his reaction, barely gave Jeff time to warn her before he went off in her mouth.

When he was finally finished, Jeff took a while to breathe again, while Annie merely froze in place with the new bounty in her mouth. She didn't seem to know what to do with it, as she looked uneasy and a bit disgusted. Once Jeff recovered enough to see it, he gasped out, "Go on, you can spit it out," then Annie nodded her thanks and went to the bathroom sink to do so.

Although this was a more sexually mature Annie, she was still uncomfortable with a few things. Jeff could have been offended, but he was actually reassured that she was, indeed, still Annie even now. Besides, there'd be time for her to develop a taste for the wilder stuff.

"Where's your toothpaste?" Annie asked after she finished spitting.

"In my safe. Turn it to 12-17-12," Jeff said before he could be stunned.

Yet when it hit him what he did – when it hit him just how deeply he'd let Annie in if he gave her his bathroom safe combination, especially this early on – he was as frozen as he was this morning. He listened to Annie opening the safe and brushing with his toothbrush, but that was all he could do.

But the world didn't end. Annie didn't turn clingy from it, and he was still too hung over from her….jobs to care if she did. However, she did lay back down next to him when she was done, smiling a knowing but restrained smile.

That killed the rest of Jeff's restraint, as he leaned over to kiss her and taste his own toothpaste – which tasted much better on Annie's mouth than it did on his. A lot of things probably did.

Now Annie's own glee was unleashed, judging by the giggling and squealing he felt against his mouth. Fueled by it, Jeff laid her down on her back and went to work kissing all over her body, like he did last night. Yet in the light, he could better see where he was going, become all but hypnotized by her pale, sweet skin and chest, and bury his face into said chest.

At the same time, he let his long fingers circle her opening and tease it mercilessly, before plunging one inside. Annie moaned in that increasingly familiar way that seemed to make Jeff tingle, which inspired him to put another finger in.

After the two fingers did enough work, he pulled them out and suckled them dry right in front of Annie. He made a show of licking up her juices, which in turn made her clench her thighs together and press them against his. It certainly wouldn't be long before he could put another big thing inside her, like when –

"Wait! Your pills!" Jeff remembered this time. "You'll have to go back to get those later! Damn it," he groaned, not wanting Annie to leave at all for the foreseeable future. But even over the top emotional Jeff wouldn't say that out loud.

"I put the rest of them in my pocket," Annie responded. Jeff let that sink in and then laughed heartily.

"You were expecting this, weren't you?" Jeff teased.

"I like being prepared for everything, you know that. You stopped me from being prepared for that first storm, but not this one," Annie laid out. Jeff then focused again on laying her out in other ways.

Once he entered her again, Jeff made sure to start out slower than the past two times. This time, he put as much effort into rubbing her body as he did thrusting into it. Yet she was still tight and warm enough that he put more effort into thrusting before long. However, Annie didn't mind, as evident by her hips thrusting back and her hands gliding down to his ass, like his did last night.

Jeff remembered to kiss her as they worked in tandem, then cupped her breast with one hand and held her hair with the other. He stroked her hair and her nipple while kissing her and fucking her harder, as Annie could just groan and meet him kiss for kiss and thrust for thrust.

Jeff didn't want this to end so soon, as there was still so much to do. But there was time to do it. All this time, he feared it would all end with everyone after graduation, yet it was certain that wouldn't be the case here – unless he screwed it up. For once, he didn't ever want to take the easy way out and screw up. Not here.

At least he was in his element when he pounded Annie into another orgasm, triggering one more of his own. He then found a new element by actually doing…something close to cuddling afterwards. Whatever it was, he still couldn't stop touching Annie, or stop stroking the curves of her waist, ass, breasts and other seductive features. For her part, Annie was getting more good practice in stroking his features as well.

The two stroked each other lazily and intently until they were ready to go again. There wasn't much daylight left, so they wanted to get as much in as possible.

Jeff experimented with letting Annie ride him, fucking her against the bedroom wall, and putting her on all fours while he could still see her ass jiggle. Annie even developed some tricks in swiveling her hips, lifting herself up his shaft before dropping back down rapidly, and in using dirty words to make Jeff go even faster.

Needless to say, they got in so much last-minute experimentation that they finally drained themselves. Although there was still a little daylight left, they collapsed into each other's arms and fell right to sleep after one orgasm too many. And as it got dark, they just stayed there and rested, as comfortable as they'd ever been.

And over an hour later, light shined upon them.

Jeff's bedroom light and bathroom lights were still on the on switch, so when the power flickered back on, those lights erupted back on as well. It took a minute for Jeff and Annie to stir from the brightness – but even when they did, they could barely move or speak.

"Power's back," Annie muttered, not really caring to jump up and down or even get up.

"Mmmhmm," Jeff gestured, far less exuberant than he would have been four days ago, or even two days ago.

"Wanna go watch TV now?" Annie offered to be polite, despite drifting to sleep even as she spoke.

"Maybe later," Jeff offered, his eyes closed again.

"K," was all Annie had for him before they both went back to dreamland.

With the electricity finally back on for Jeff's power grid, their temporary safe haven from civilization was gone. The area was recovering from the storm, and soon they could focus on their upcoming last semester together at Greendale.

Jeff would surely go back to faking joy about leaving Greendale and being a lawyer again, while still trying to figure out who he wanted to be after these last several months. And Annie still had a lot to figure out about who she wanted to be after graduation – to say nothing of her sadness over having just one school semester left.

None of these problems went away this week. Being together would probably add a lot more on now. But after living somewhat like those 'Revolution' characters that NBC loved so much, and surviving it, Jeff and Annie felt like they could survive anything – together.

It was a brave new world, but they were still themselves, only better. So if the last three-and-a-half years and these last few days meant anything, that'd be enough to make it all okay.

Yet some things would still never change. Like being vulnerable to wacky setups like Troy, Abed and Britta coming in through Jeff's unlocked door, and finding Jeff and Annie naked on Jeff's bed. Or stuff like Abed being pleasantly surprised that they used the clichéd 'seeing their friends naked' cliché _after _sex, while Troy froze like a wide-eyed statue and Britta sputtered to find a response.

Yes, all was indeed normal with the world again.

**THE END**


End file.
